Pokemon: Lost Memories!
by Pokepika's Haunt
Summary: Ash Ketchum finds herself in the Orre Region with no memories and alone. More inside, rated T for safety, Fem!Ash fanfic! No pairings as of yet! I want to put some in though, so please help by making offers!
1. Chapter 1

A/N. Ok! I haven't done Pokemon in awhile, so please bare with me on this. I'll try and make this as interesting as possible, so please enjoy!

Summary: After competing in the Sinnoh Region's Pokemon League, 13 year old Ash Ketchum finds herself alone and without help in the Orre Region after getting into a mysterious accident on her way home. The accident leaves her with amnesia and with little clue of what happened to her, she sets out on a journey to find what she has lost, finding friends in three strange people along the way. But strange and evil forces are at work against her as the infamous Shadow Pokemon make a come back! WARNING: FEM!ASH FANFIC! No I did not make a mistake with the gender, sorry! This is a fem!Ash fanfic, plain and simple. Please no flames! This is a sort of crossover between one of the pokemon videogames and the anime, kinda.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon!**

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><p><em>BANG! BOOM! BAM! KABOOOM!<em>

_"What the-!"_

_BOOM!_

_"Ugh..."_

_**'Warning Warning! We are under attack! Warning Warning! I repeat We are under attack! Warning Waaarrnniiie-*zzt***_

__BOOOM! CRASH!__

_"Ugh...P-Pikachu...Buddy...I-I'm sorry..._

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><p><strong>Part 1: No Memories!<strong>

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><p><strong>A Gas Stop in the Orre Region-<strong>

A young boy with sand colored hair sat in a booth with his two friends, eating silently while the other two discussed the pros and cons of whatever debate they had gotten into this time around.

"Wes. Hey Wes!"

"Hm?" he said calmly as he eyed the red haired boy sitting across from him.

"What do you think?"

"About what, Cody?" Wes asked, his sharp yellow eyes dilating slightly as the boy, Cody, gave a dejected huff. Cody was a two years younger then him, and though less experienced in pokemon battles, he was still quite talented for his age. Enough to

"Listen for once would you?"

"Heh, sorry."

"Nevermind..." Cody said dejectedly, before the girl sitting next to Wes, Rui, said something to instigate yet another debate.

Wes looked disinterestedly at the TV hanging from the wall across from them, only for his eyes to widen at the site on the news. The other two looked as well, giving similar reactions as Cody suddenly hollered for the owner to turn the volume up.

**"And in recent news, an airplane suddenly and mysteriously crashed while flying over the Orre Region. It is reported that a total of 20 passengers, all of which were pokemon trainers headed for the Kanto Region south of us, were onboard the flight when it crashed. Authorities have yet to pinpoint for the exact cause of the crash that happened not four hours ago. No bodies were found at the crash site when investigated, and any and all pokemon that might have been onboard the flight as well have gone missing. Authorities are still working with airport officials to compile a list of the missing people and pokemon.**

**In other news..."**

The proprieter turned the volume down again as the important news was over, signified by the disappearance of the photo taken of the crashsight. Wes had a bad feeling in his gutt as he replayed the news in his head.

There was no way that many people could disappear like that, not if they were pokemon trainers, and with their pokemon, something just felt really fishy about the whole thing.

"Wes, you don't think-?" Rui asked, shaken by the bad news, most likely imagining the heart-wrenching reactions of the family for the now MIA trainers and their pokemon, how any relatives who actually cared must have been feeling at that moment in time, as they watched what was most likely an internationally broadcasted news report.

"I'm not sure. I'd like to say no, but something just doesn't feel right about this. They came back once before after all, who's to say they won't come back again?" Wes was hoping, no praying, he was wrong about this.

Cody was about to add on when a gasp from the proprieter drew their attention to the entrance of the diner. A young girl with messy, jet-black hair that went down to her butt almost and brown eyes stood in the door way, looking very scared and small at the moment.

Their eyes widened in recognition almost immediately.

The girl was Ash Ketchum, an aspiring pokemon trainer from Pallet Town. She was 15, a year older then Cody, and just as talented a trainer, if not a bit reckless.

Right now though, she looked like she had just seen Hell. Shaken, confused, and quite obviously scared.

In one word, traumatized. It was quite clear how she had gotten here.

She had been on the plane when it crashed, though what she was doing wandering the desert was unclear, she was at least more or less safe.

Cody was about to stand when she spoke up, body trembling from her ordeal.

"Um...excuse me. But can anybody tell me where I am? And for that matter, _who_ I am?"

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><p>AN. Hope you guys liked it, and sorry for the cliff hanger, but it's late. Thanks for reading and please review and tell me what you guys think. See ya!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N. Ok here's the second chapter! I hope you guys like it, but first, some things I need to get out of the way real quick. You should probably read this, as it is important to the story.

First off, for those who are wondering, Ash does NOT have any of her Pokémon with her. Not even Pikachu. The reason why is to help with the mystery of what the heck happened to cause a plane to crash in the middle of a desert in the Orre Region, and what the heck to the trainers and the Pokémon. Are they safe? Obviously not, but you never know. Also Ash has amnesia, as was stated quite clearly in the last chapter if I remember correctly. Ash does not remember anything, and by anything I mean everything. She has completely forgotten everything that happened prior to waking up in the desert right after plane crash. Now I haven't decided what I'm going to do with Ash's Pokémon. I have two things I could do with that. I could either take her Pokémon and make them Shadow Pokémon, including Pikachu, and force them to have this complete fall out with Ash and her new friends, or I could just completely drop them out of this fanfiction until later in the story around when I finally decide to start have Ash regain little bits and pieces of her memories. I'm still planning that part out, though I'm leaning more towards the more dramatic scenario of turning Ash's Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon. I can promise you that Ash is going to meet up with Pikachu eventually though, I just can't tell you when. Also, in case some of you haven't figured it out, Cody is Michael from Pokémon XD Gale of Darkness. I forget if that's one of his names or not but yeah.

Now I hope that helps answer some questions for all those who wanted to know about this stuff. I'm still planning this out a bit, but I at least have some idea as to where this is headed, sorry for the lack of planning, I'm not too good at it. Now time for review replies!

To Unbecoming Me: Thanks and I'm glad you like it! I like your idea for the pairing, so I think I'll go with that one. As for your question concerning Ash and her Pokémon, your answer should be in the paragraph just below the Author's Note. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!

To TheBlackSeaReaper: thanks and glad you find it interesting. Enjoy!

To weirn018: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Like I stated in the Author's note, yes Pikachu and Ash will eventually meet up, though when exactly is anybody's guess really, just depends on what my imagination comes up with. Sorry! Anyways, thanks again for the review and enjoy!

To mysteriousangelcutlass14: Glad you like it! Enjoy!

To IndigoButterfly: Thanks and that's okay. It's good to try new things though. If you do start reading Pokémon Fanfics, I'm not exactly sure how to put this, but you can expect a whole lot of pairings of characters, comedies, and various fanfics involving OCs and such. A lot of people like to redo Ash's Pokémon journey with him being slightly or majorly OOC or just have him in another region. There aren't a whole lot out there where Ash is a girl though. I have other if you want to read them. And as for the updating, take the cheery and chocolate off and give me some caramel and/or sprinkles, and you got yourself a deal. LOL, just kidding. Anyways, thanks again for reviewing and enjoy!

Ok! Thanks for the reviews again guys! I seem to lose my motivation when I either go too long without writing or don't get enough reviews for my fanfic. I'm glad I got this many though! And some favoriting too! Anyways, so yeah thanks and glad you all liked it! Please enjoy this chapter as well!

Summary: The amnesiac Ash makes a deal with Wes to take him to the crash site for plane if he can tell her what her name is. It seems like once they get back, that's it, and an old enemy is resurfacing, and they key to defeating them may lie in the young trainer's memories. What happened during the plane accident, and what did Ash see that was so traumatizing she can't even remember her own name?

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon!<strong>

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><p><strong>Last time-<strong>

_Cody was about to add on when a gasp from the proprietor drew their attention to the entrance of the diner. A young girl with messy, jet-black hair that went down to her butt almost and brown eyes stood in the door way, looking very scared and small at the moment._

_Their eyes widened in recognition almost immediately._

_The girl was Ash Ketchum, an aspiring Pokémon trainer from Pallet Town. She was 15, a year older then Cody, and just as talented a trainer, if not a bit reckless._

_Right now though, she looked like she had just seen Hell. Shaken, confused, and quite obviously scared._

_In one word, traumatized. It was quite clear how she had gotten here._

_She had been on the plane when it crashed, though what she was doing wandering the desert was unclear, she was at least more or less safe._

_Cody was about to stand when she spoke up, body trembling from her ordeal._

_"Um...excuse me. But can anybody tell me where I am? And for that matter, _who_ I am?"_

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><p><strong>Part 2: Who, What, Where, When, and Why?<strong>

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><p><strong>The Outpost-<strong>

Ash presently sat on a stool, carefully eating the food that had been placed in front of her by the Proprietor of the shop. Wes waited a moment before approaching the girl.

"Excuse me…" he stated carefully as Ash jumped slightly, body trembling from the shock of her ordeal. Wes had seemed taken aback by the reaction and in truth he was. He had seen the trainer known as Ash Ketchum on TV before watching the tournaments she had participated in, the most recent being the Sinnoh Conference. She had seemed so confident on TV as if nothing could really shake her short of murder. Right now and in person, she was just the opposite. She seemed scared and lost, like she had no idea where to go, who to go to, and in a way that was true. Judging from what she had asked earlier, not only was she in a largely unfamiliar region, but she also had amnesia to top it off. Wes was secretly shocked at the change. From what he had seen and heard about the girl, she acted the same both on and off the TV, right now though she was just sitting there wondering what life was gonna throw at her next, and hoping it wasn't too bad a thing.

He couldn't help but feel bad for her, something he wasn't used to doing or feeling as she responded, trying to not stutter too much.

"Um…Y-yes?" Wes sighed as he sat down, trying to make this as easy as possible for an already traumatized trainer. She had been through enough already; Wes didn't need to be putting salt into the wound, not if he could help it.

"Sorry about scaring you like that earlier." Ash nodded slightly, giving a carefully placed, but genuine smile, "It's alright. Um…What was it that you needed?" Wes nodded as he began,

"I know this probably is going to be difficult for you to answer, and I understand that you probably don't remember, but I was wondering if you remember what happened exactly during a plane crash earlier." Wes knew this might wind up causing more problems than fixing them, but he had to find out. Ash took a minute before she began nodding oddly, her expression a sort of thoughtfulness that was not commonly seen on the survivors of such events and accidents like what the young trainer before him had been through. From what he understood, normally they would try to push the memory away. Try to keep it hidden and buried so they wouldn't be reminded of what they may have lost. She seemed to be trying to make an actual effort to remember what happened, like she wasn't trying to reject it like so many others would. Wes was brought out of his musings as Ash sighed,

"I'm sorry, I can barely remember my own name let alone what happened before I woke up..." Wes nodded in understanding and was about to get up when Ash suddenly spoke up again, "But I did wake up in the middle of a plane crash." This drew Wes's attention. He had to wonder why she would point that fact out.

"Could you tell me where it is?" he asked her as she gave him thoughtful look.

"I can do better. I can show you where, just take me with you. But only on one condition." Ash said as she turned to fully face the boy in front of her. She was getting more of her confidence back from what Wes could tell, she was beginning to settle in and adapt to her new environment, much quicker than most.

"And what would that be?" Wes asked as he raised a curious eyebrow toward the girl.

"I told you I can't remember my name." Wes nodded, though he knew she wasn't asking for an answer to that, "You seem to know me though, probably not personally, but you know me none-the-less." Wes sighed as he answered her.

"You didn't have to make deals with me if that was all you wanted to know. You could just ask. But a deal's a deal, I accept." He shook Ash's hand as he motioned for Rui and Cody to come up. "Your name's Ash, Ash Ketchum." He told her as he proceeded to introduce himself and his friends. "I'm Wes, this Rui," he pointed to said girl, "and this is Cody." He finished, pointing to the red haired boy standing next to Rui. Ash nodded, silently rolling the name she had been given in her head.

"Mh, nice to meet you. I am…I am Ash." She said the last part carefully, nodding as she seemed to approve silently of the name's sound on her tongue. "Ok, now it's my turn to keep my end of the deal. You gave me my name, so I'll take you to the crash site." Ash smiled, glad she at least had something to call herself, even if there were no memories to go with it.

"Ok, Rui you don't mind if Ash rides in the side car do you?" Rui nodded to Wes's question as he proceeded to pay the man for the food they had eaten and left. "Ok, let's go!"

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><p><strong>In the northeastern part of the Orre Region's desert-<strong>

"So this is it?" Wes's voice rang out across the empty ruins, still smoking with some left over stubborn fires that just wouldn't go out. Ash nodded as she allowed herself to slide down the sand dunes, her new outfit blowing in the winds. Wes had been kind enough to make a pit stop in another town along the way to get Ash some new clothes that didn't look like she had been in a crash site recently. She now wore dark blue capris and a loose, long-sleeved, hoody. Underneath was a white tank top, and on her feet were a pair of flip flops.

"Yep. This is the place where I woke up." Ash answered as she surveyed the area. When she had been there earlier, she hadn't bothered to actually look around her, just dully noted that yes, she was in fact lying in the remains what had to have been one of the worst accidents ever in the history of the world, and that she had no idea why she was there in the first place. She was more concerned with finding civilization, and figuring out who she was, and what the heck had happened to her.

"Wow, it really was a bad accident. The TV wasn't lying I guess." Rui said as she stared at the remains in shock. Ash nodded as she then proceeded to slide down the sand dune they were currently standing on, causing dust and dirt to fly up in a small cloud behind her. Wes followed after her not wanting to lose track of what could be the only survivor of the accident when he could easily prevent it from happening. Cody and Rui followed them both a bit more carefully.

"Wes, what do you think happened to them?" Rui asked as she and Cody finally caught up to the two. Ash looked back toward them in curiosity.

"What happened to whom?" Rui looked at Ash in shock for a moment before the memory that Ash had amnesia, and therefor didn't remember the accident and what happened hit.

"There was more than just one person involved in this Ash. Nobody is sure how many, but there are a lot of people currently missing who were on the plane when it crashed. One of them might have been you." Wes answered Ash blinked for a moment. She was trying to remember what had happened again, but was failing miserably. She sighed as she carefully placed her hand on large metal plate that had embedded itself in the ground. Suddenly Ash froze, becoming completely still as her consciousness temporarily left this world.

_Meanwhile-_

Wes, Rui, and Cody were talking between themselves, unaware that anything strange was happening at the moment. Well, with Ash anyways. Rui was staring at some of the remains warily.

"Wes, some of these plates of metal are giving off a dark aura. Like the Shadow Pokémon, but not exactly the same." Wes didn't like the sound of that one bit, but said nothing as he looked back at Ash, who had been awfully silent for some time now.

"Hey Ash, are you sure you can't remember anything?" he got no response from the girl. "Ash?" he was about to try and get her attention when the sound of animalistic growling reached his ears. They all turned as a man, wearing a very familiar outfit appeared suddenly from the ruins. There was a snarling Mightyena in front of him.

"Who the-" Wes couldn't finish as Rui suddenly yelled out in shock as she stared at the Pokémon. Cody gasped as the machine on his arm activated suddenly.

"That's a Shadow Pokémon!" They both chorused in surprise as Wes and Cody brought out two pokéballs. The man laughed as if them trying to stop him was a very humorous idea.

"Ah, yes I forgot that you three have experience dealing with us. Since you know what they are, I'm gonna save you the trouble of dealing with a battle you're sure to lose. Just hand over the girl and there won't be any problems." The man said snidely. Wes growled warningly as positioned himself in-between the newcomer and Ash, who was still not paying attention, though it had become quite clear that she was not at all conscious.

"Heck no." he said without hesitation as Cody prepared to send one of his Pokémon into the oncoming fray.

"Fine, it's your funeral." The man said nonchalantly as he was about to send the dark-type an order to attack.

"Why do you need her anyways?" Wes called, his finger hovering expectantly over the button.

"Heh, well I guess it couldn't hurt to tell you, seeing as you won't be living long after this. Her memories." Was the man's answer. This got Wes to give the man a strange look.

"What do you mean 'Her memories'?" Wes asked in slight confusion, trying to get as much information from the overtly confident man as possible.

"There's a reason she can't remember anything. The plane crashing was no accident."

"Yeah, we kinda figured that out as soon as you got here."

"We captured almost all of the potential witnesses and their Pokémon. 'Cept for hers' that is. She put up a fight. As a result we almost lost." He motioned toward Ash, who finally had come back to them, fully conscious and more than a little freaked out. She caught sight of the man, and immediately hid herself behind Wes in fear, but not of the man himself, of the Pokémon. "She did something funky to one of our Shadow Pokémon. Now I'm to capture her. We also can't have her regaining her memories of what happened on the plane, she might talk too much. And we can't have that now can we?" the man said before the Mightyena lunged at them.

"Espeon, Umbreon! Use supersonic and bite!" Wes called as he released his own Pokémon onto the battlefield.

"Jolteon, sick em' boy! Thunderbolt!" Cody ordered as he released another Pokémon into the fray. Wes and Cody worked flawlessly together as they weakened the Shadow Pokémon before finally catching it.

The man spluttered, snarling in disbelief that he had it taken from him, before swearing revenge and that they would pay for foiling his mission. He sneered at the group before taking off, disappearing into the ruins of the crash site.

"Hey, are you okay Ash? What happened back there?" Wes asked as he looked at the visibly shaken girl.

"I-I saw…"Ash stuttered out,

"What did you see?"

"I saw…me…" she said in confusion. Wes and the others gave her a similar look,

"What do you mean?" Cody asked, just as confused as the others.

"I think I saw what happened right before the plane crashed…Or-Or something like that…"

"Wes, what do you think that means?" Rui asked, concern clearly laced into her voice.

"Not sure." Wes answered as he thought for a moment. "But I do know two things. Cipher is back, and whatever it is they're plotting, if we want to figure it out, we have to help Ash recover her missing memories." Wes stated as the words of what the man had said earlier. Clearly Ash had pulled something off while she was on the plane, before it crashed and she lost her memories. Whatever it was, it had put a dent in Cipher's newest plans. But as a result, Ash couldn't remember anything. If they wanted answers, they needed to help Ash remember what happened. Wes sighed as more questions were coming then answers. Things were getting complicated, and at the only way to clear things up, was to help a girl who was just as confused as everyone else.

Wes just knew, things would only get harder for them here on out.

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><p>AN. Thanks for reading and remember to please review! I absolutely love it when you guys review! It gives me motivation to continue writing! I look forward to reading what you guys think about what the chapters I write. No flames though, me no likey flames. They make good smores though…JK :P. Anyways, so yeah, thanks for reading, hope you guys enjoyed the chapted and please review! See ya!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N. Ok! Here's Part 3. Enjoy! Now time for review replies!

To Weirn018: Maybe, it's one of my ideas for her yes. I'm sure you already guess this, but there are a lot of potential scenarios and plots that I could spin with an amnesiac Ash from the bad guys convincing her that she's on the wrong side to Ash running into someone from her forgotten past like Misty when she still hasn't regained her memories and as such can't remember the girl. Most of them are dramatic and tense and would definitely add to the suspense of the story, of course there is a limit to everything, including how much drama you put in a story. Anyways, thanks for the review and enjoy!

To Unbecoming Me: You're gonna have to wait to figure that one out, but I'll give you a hint, it has to do with the strongest Shadow Pokémon. As for the pairing, you're the only one who offered one, so yeah; I think I'll be going with yours. And yes, things will get worse and become more mysterious as the plot progresses. Hopefully things turn out well and I don't somehow ruin it. Thanks for the review and enjoy!

To IndigoButterfly: Heh, yeah me too. Yeah, but life isn't fair. If it was, they'd invent a new Pokémon game that allowed me to design my own character! Or choose to become a Pokémon and then let me pick what Pokémon I want without all the stupid questions! Those are just confusing! Anyways, thanks for the review and enjoy!

Ok! Now that I have all the reviews replied to, time for summary, disclaimer, and then the reason you're all here. The chapter!

Summary: Wes, Ash, Rui, and Cody make a stop at Phenac City while on their way to Pyrite. But something seems amiss with the town. Things only get weirder when a strange trainer shows up, and shortly afterwards, Ash disappears. What is going on in the oasis and what are the Shadow Tournaments?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon!**

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><p><strong>Part 3: Strange Happenings in the Oasis!<strong>

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><p><strong>Phenac City-<strong>

It was evening by the time Wes, Rui, Ash, and Cody arrived in Phenac City. Ash was still shaken from the events at the crash site, and wasn't willing to tell the others what had happened yet. It had become quite clear in the short amount of time that they'd known her that she was in the midst of a huge plan spun by the evil Cipher Co, the creators of the Shadow Pokémon. But why wasn't completely clear yet, just that she had done something to really piss them off, besides being characteristically stubborn and getting in their way.

Right now, with Ash's memories completely gone, leaving her unable to give them much of a hint to go by, they had decided to make way for Pyrite Town. It was the best place to gather information concerning things such as Shadow Pokémon. It wouldn't be the first time the town itself had been involved in it, so it wouldn't surprise any of them. It was a long ways off though, so they decided to stop at Phenac City first.

"Ok, Cody and I will head to the Pokémon Center to heal up our Pokémon, and get some of the others out of storage, it's clear we're gonna need them now." Rui nodded to what Wes had said, Ash a little ways behind her, looking very unsure of herself, and pretty much everything around her at the moment.

"Right." She responded confidently. Wes caught Ash's expression and couldn't help but begin to worry.

"Are you two sure you'll be okay without us or any Pokémon with you?"

"Yeah Wes, we'll be fine don't worry, right Ash?" Rui looked toward the girl for confirmation, but went ignored as it seemed that she was thinking about something, "Uh, Ash? Hey Ash!"

"Huh? Oh sorry about that. What were we talking about?" Rui sighed at Ash's question as she realized that the girl had not been paying attention.

"Wes was asking if we'll be fine on our own. We will won't we?" Ash hesitated slightly before nodding her head,

"Yeah, you two go do whatever you were planning on doing." Ash said, trying to seem confident and failing miserably. Wes was about to say something when Rui interjected.

"Don't worry Wes; I'll take care of her. You and Cody just worry about what Pokémon you're taking with you." Rui reassured him, before taking Ash by the shoulders and guiding her off in some random direction, most likely to the nearby shops. Wes just sighed as he and Cody made their way to the Pokémon Center. Despite Rui's reassurance that they would be okay, he couldn't help but worry for them, especially Ash.

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><p><strong>With the girls-<strong>

"Hey Ash, are you sure you're okay?" Rui asked as she and Ash walked about the fountain. Ash had been looking about the town as if something about it made her uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I'm fine…Don't worry about it 'kay?" Rui just nodded to the girl's response, not completely sure if she should believe what she was saying or not.

"Well if you say so…Hey Ash, don't you think this place is kinda weird?" It was Ash's turn to look at Rui weirdly this time around.

"What do you mean Rui?" Rui took a few seconds to answer as she looked around the town carefully.

"Oh yeah…You haven't been here before, my bad. I'm just wondering where all the people went. This place is usually so lively…" Ash just watched her as she shook her head. "Oh never mind, might just be me making a mountain out of a mole hill. C'mon, let's go do what girls do best." Rui said as she grabbed hold of Ash's arm, brushing aside her worries as if they were nothing.

"And what's that?" Ash asked as she allowed herself to be dragged about by the excited girl.

"Shopping." She declared with a smile that caused a chill to run up and down Ash's spine. For some reason the term and the implied definition just didn't seem to agree with her. Ash just nervously smiled as Rui dragged her to the Pokémart.

Unbeknownst to the two girls though, was a strange figure hidden in the shadows, watching them as they made their way through the empty plaza of the seemingly empty town.

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><p><strong>Back with Wes and Cody-<strong>

Cody was walking ahead of Wes, more or less carefree despite the situation. Wes couldn't help but be a bit wary though, as was the nature considering the conditions under which he was raised as a former member of Team Snaggem. Something was off about the usually peaceful and prosperous city. Usually you had to be careful not to bump into people on days like today, but right now, it could be considered a ghost town with the lack of living, breathing people currently walking about. It made Wes more than a little uncomfortable.

"Hey Cody, don't you think it's weird?" Wes suddenly asked the red-headed boy in front of him.

"What do you mean Wes?" Wes shook his head slightly as he looked around at the scenery again.

"The people, or rather there lack of them. This place is usually so busy around this time isn't it?" Cody paused as he finally took the time to look around,

"Yeah you're right…I wonder where they all are. It's almost like a ghost town right now." Wes was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"We'll try and figure it out later, right now, let's just get to the Pokémon Center. Hopefully somebody there can help us, if not we'll have to just head for the next town and hope for the best on the way there." Cody nodded as the two continued on to their destination, not noticing the form of a female on top of one of the buildings, watching them like a hawk.

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><p><strong>Back with Ash and Rui-<strong>

Ash was terrified to say the least. She now knew why she had had the foreboding feeling of going shopping with Rui. She had said it would be 'fun' and 'a great bonding experience for them'. It was far from it. Rui kept throwing clothes everywhere, and she squealed suddenly and without warning whenever she found something she deemed to be "Cute", before forcing Ash into it just to see what it looked like on her, only to tell her it didn't look quite right, and then shove her back into the dressing rooms to try on more.

Despite her initial terror though, which had yet to subside, she couldn't help but feel happy. Rui seemed to be having loads of fun, and so Ash was just willing to put up with it.

"_*Shriek* _Ash you SO need to try this on. NOW!" But if Rui screamed one more time at that pitch Ash was going to lose it, friend or not.

"Um…I don't think I should…I mean, I don't like pink. At all…Maybe you should try it." Ash said, carefully wording her words as she fearfully eyed the pink halter top and frilly red polka-dotted skirt. Rui seemed to think for a moment, before looking at the outfit contemplatively and then rushing off to the dressing rooms to try on the outfit.

"I'll be right back Ash. Stay right here and do NOT move until I get back. Okay?" Rui ordered as she paused mid-run to look back at her. Ash nodded in confirmation as she watched Rui grin and then all but tackle the dressing rooms.

Ash sat down on a nearby bench to wait for Rui to come out, perfectly content at the moment, when a hand came down on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Wah?-Oh…I'm sorry, you scared me there." Ash said as she looked to the person behind her. It was a boy, maybe a year or two older than her, with striking red eyes and black as night, short, unruly hair. The boy was wearing a black t-shirt with a black jacket over it and dark gray pants. On his feet were pure black tennis shoes. The boy smiled gently as he moved to stand in front of her.

"S'okay. It's my fault for sneaking up on you like that." He responded as he seemed to take on a contemplative look, as if he was evaluating something about her.

"Um…Can I help you?" The boy was silent for a while before answering.

"Yeah, actually you can. Have you ever heard of the Shadow Tournament?" this question caused Ash to give the boy a strange look.

"No, what is it?" Ash asked out of instinct. The boy smiled as he began to answer her question,

"Well…"

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><p><strong>Sometime later-<strong>

"Sorry I took so long Ash, the zipper on the skirt wasn't cooperating and-Ash?" Rui looked around the empty store in confusion, not seeing hide nor hair of her new friend. "Ash? Hey Ash, where'd you go?" Rui started running about the store looking for the amnesiac girl. She finally stopped some time later, eyes close to shedding tears as she hadn't found the now missing girl at all. She suddenly took a deep breath as she made one last desperate attempt of getting an answer, "ASH!"

* * *

><p><strong>Back with the boys-<strong>

"Wes, Cody! Ash is missing!" Rui yelled as she came running in through the doors of the Pokémon Center.

"WHAT?"

* * *

><p>AN. Thanks for reading and please review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and see ya!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N. Here's part 4 people! Enjoy!

To IndigoButterfly: Yep and here's more! Torture is shopping, plain and simple. Especially when it's for clothes and your friend won't let you leave until you've tried everything in the store, including the socks in the sock department on. It's even worse when you're one of those people who get extremely irritable when you're hungry, and everybody's too busy looking at clothes to remember why you're in a bad mood in the first place, so you wind up getting yelled at. Believe it or not, this has happened repeatedly to me. And yes, my mother taught me to place nice with the other kids, I was just one of those kids who never, and still doesn't completely listen. Besides, cliffhangers are fun! Thanks for the review and enjoy!

To Unbecoming Me: Glad you like the chapter! And yes, suspense is a tool I make use of whenever I can. I almost explained what the Shadow Tournament was, but that's no fun now is it? As for what the strongest Shadow Pokémon wants Ash for, you'll just have to wait and find out! And yes you shouldn't but this is Ash we're talking about here, lord knows, Canon or not, that he/she just doesn't understand the meaning of "danger". Anyways thanks for the review and enjoy!

Ok! Time for the summary, disclaimer, and the actual chapter!

Summary: Ash is missing, and clues point to the ever dangerous Pyrite Town, and a mysterious competition called "The Shadow Tournament". What is going on in Pyrite and what does the tournament have to do with the plane crash?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon!**

* * *

><p><strong>Part 4: The Shadow Tournament! Part 1<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Phenac City, Pokémon Center-<strong>

Wes and Cody were currently sitting at a table with a worried Rui, upset that she had lost track of their new friend.

"Rui, you need to calm down and tell us what the heck happened! We can't understand you when you're crying like that." Rui sniffed as she tried her best to do as Wes instructed.

"You calmer now?" asked Cody as he waited patiently. Rui nodded in response as she began retelling what had happened.

"I took Ash out shopping for clothes, nothing too big or difficult. It seemed like a safe thing to do." Rui began as she began wringing the cloth of her skirt between her hands nervously, "I had found this really cute outfit and wanted Ash to try it on…But she convinced me to try it on myself. I was only gone like maybe five minutes, maybe a bit more. The zipper wasn't working right. I came back out, and Ash was gone. I told her to stay put and wait for me." She began worrying her bottom lip as she tried to make a guess at what had happened. Ash was still a classic case of amnesia, meaning it wasn't exactly the brightest idea to go wandering off on her own. The very fact that she had let it happen left Rui with a sour feeling in her gut. Wes sighed, drawing Rui's attention away from her worries and back to reality.

"Well there's no point in sitting here worrying. Let's go see if we can find some clues…Who knows, maybe Dash or Sara saw her." Wes stated as he thought of people who might be willing to help. Rui nodded as they stood up preparing to leave the Pokémon Center in search of the two.

"Yeah, if we can find them." Cody said as he followed Wes and Rui outside.

"Let's hope we can."

* * *

><p><strong>Somewhere in another town-<strong>

Ash was nervous. When the boy had explained Pokémon battles to her, he had made it seem like a lot of fun. A part of her seemed to agree with that, as she felt happy and excited when the term was first used. But right now she was beginning to think it was a bad idea to follow the seemingly nice boy around.

"So you're saying that all I have to do is take a Pokémon and battle with it, then win, and I get money and a special prize?" The boy looked back at her as he led her through a very sketchy town.

"Not exactly, but you're close." He said, "You take a Pokémon, and you battle with them. You can't just win one battle though. You have to win five rounds, and then you can get your money and the special prize." Ash nodded at the explanation as she followed the boy into a giant, metallic dome-like structure.

"But I don't have any Pokémon." Ash said, causing the boy to pause for a moment before turning back to face her.

"Don't worry. They'll allow you to borrow a Pokémon for use during the Tournament while you are participating. You can even pick which one you use." The boy said as he grabbed hold of Ash's arm and led her through the hallways again.t

Eventually they found themselves standing in front of a brutish man, heavy and huge in appearance and quite intimidating thanks to his size.

"Hey Al. I got another one. She don't got no Pokémon though, think you can let her borrow some so she can join in on the fun." Ash looked at the boy weirdly, not expecting him to talk like with such an accent after all the well-educated speech he was using beforehand.

The man eyed Ash for a bit, seeming to be evaluating her in much the same manner as the boy had when she had met him back in Phenac. The man simply nodded after a bit, smiling in satisfaction with what he saw, and moved aside to let them pass.

"Thanks." The boy said as he escorted inside the dark room.

* * *

><p><strong>Back in Phenac City-<strong>

It had taken a bit of searching but Wes and the others had found who they were looking for. It was quite strange for once to see Dash not running laps around the fountain near constantly like normal, and Sara herself seemed quite down and depressed, strange as she was usually quite cheerful and upbeat in nature. They perked up as best they could when they caught sight of them though.

"Wes! Rui!" Sara had called when she spotted the three approaching.

"Hey Cody!" Dash had greeted once he caught sight of them as well. "What are you three doing here?"

"Hey Dash, long time no see Sara. We'd like to say we just came to see how you two were doing, but that's not the case unfortunately." Wes replied as he greeted the two familiar faces. Dash and Sara had been one of the first people he had befriended after he had left Team Snaggem, though it wasn't on purpose or even intended to happen for that matter. Then again neither had Rui or Cody, but they were his friends none the less.

"What's the matter?" Sara had asked, as always, willing to help a friend when they needed it.

"A friend of ours recently went missing, and we were hoping maybe you two might have seen her." Cody said, pausing to look around at the city again, "And maybe you could also tell us what happened to everybody. Usually it's so loud and busy." The mention of the lack of people caused Sara and Dash to look slightly uneasy as they responded.

"Not so sure about your friend until you tell us what they look like. As for where everybody went, we're not completely sure." Dash answered as Wes finished telling Sara a description of Ash.

"Um…I think I may have seen her leaving, but I'm not completely sure." Sara said, causing Wes to sigh, "And yes, we can't really tell you what happened to everybody, we're not really sure ourselves. They all just started disappearing, much like your friend." This caused the three to take on a look of worry as they began to speculate the scenarios of what might have happened.

"Do you think you guys can tell us what might have been going on when people started disappearing, it might help us find our friend. Or at the very least when it started?" Wes asked, not willing to completely give up just yet. Sara thought for a moment before answering,

"Yes, actually…I think it started a couple of weeks ago…Maybe a month at the most." Sara started when Dash added on,

"No not exactly. It was when the rumors started remember." Sara took on a look of realization at the mention of rumors.

"Oh yeah, I remember now…"

"Wait, what rumors?" Wes interjected quickly before they went off on another one of their tangents where only they understood what they were talking about and nobody else did.

"Oh, sorry about that. The rumors, they started about two weeks ago, give or take a couple of days." Dash nodded in agreement,

"Yeah, at first it was just a couple of people. But then this rumor started going around about a mysterious competition or something in Pyrite Town."

"Mh, and then even more people started to disappear. At first it was just Pokémon Trainers, but then regular people who'd never even handled Pokémon started disappearing too. Now the only people left are a couple adults, some teenagers, and a bunch of children."

"Luckily none of the kids have gone missing yet, then we'd be having a real problem."

"Yeah, that's for sure. But you said something about a competition in Pyrite. Do you guys think you can remember what it's called?" it was Dash who answered this time,

"Yeah…It-I think they called it the 'Shadow Tournament' or something like that. Something really freaky like that." Wes nodded as he and the others turned to leave,

"Ok thanks for the information you guys. Take care of yourselves, and be careful!" Wes said as he waved goodbye to the two. They waved back,

"You too Wes. See ya later Rui, Cody. Take care!"

"Bye!" Rui and Cody said as they left, following behind Wes.

* * *

><p><strong>Back with Ash and the Mystery Boy-<strong>

Ash gaped at the room before her. It was filled to the brim with cages. Inside were some of the meanest looking creatures Ash had ever seen.

"These are Pokémon; you'll be borrowing one for the tournament. Pick carefully." The boy warned as he turned on some of the lights so that they could see better.

"Are you sure they're safe?" Ash said looking at some of them warily. The boy nodded,

"Yep, just pick one." Ash just nodded as she proceeded to scan the cages for one to use in the tournament. None of them seemed to be catching her eye though, that is until something started sparking in the far back. Ash became curious when it happened again and went to check it out. What she found couldn't help but intrigue her. In a cage being kept separate from the others, was a small yellow mouse Pokémon with red cheeks and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. (If you can't guess who this is, then you worry me.)

It started sparking again, letting loose large amounts of electricity. Only stopping after Ash bent down to face it. Ash smiled at the sight of the Pokémon, something about it looking terribly familiar, to the point where it greatly annoyed Ash that she couldn't remember anything. She was about to reach her hand inside the cage when the boy suddenly grabbed hold of it.

"You shouldn't be sticking your hand in the cages, it's not safe." He said warningly. Ash just continued to stare at the Pokémon insistently.

"I want this one." She suddenly said, no doubt or hesitation evident in her voice.

"Pick a different one." The boy said, shaking his head.

"No, I want this one." Ash argued back determinedly.

"You can't pick that one, it's not ready for use yet." Ash snatched her hand back, turning to face the boy with a fierce fire flashing in her eyes.

"No. I want this one, none of the others will do." Ash said slowly. The boy gulped, not having expected the sudden change of behavior, and nodded in agreement.

"Don't blame me if it electrocutes you." He simply said as he grabbed a set of keys and, after some searching, unlocked the cage. Ash reached inside, and to the boy's shock, grabbed hold of the Pokémon without being electrocuted. The particular Pokémon Ash had picked was a difficult one, not easy to handle at all; it was always electrocuting everybody, so it was kept in the back and away from the others. But here Ash had come, and all of a sudden the Pokémon was docile and willing to obey. It was even letting her scratch it behind its ears.

"Well I guess you're ready. Let's go get you signed up for the tournament." Ash paused for a moment; completely still save for her hand, which was still scratching the Pokémon's ears affectionately. She suddenly turned to face the boy. What he saw caused an eerie chill to race up and down his spine.

Ash's eyes were a glowing bright yellow, the pupils mere slits now as they seemed to pierce through his soul and weaken his own will to continue on with what he was doing. The boy gulped in uncontrolled fear as Ash turned and made her way out of the room, not even daring to breathe until there was a good six feet between them, and even then he was careful.

* * *

><p><strong>Back with Wes and the others-<strong>

Wes, Cody, and Rui were making the trek through the desert, made easier when you had a set of wheels instead of having to walk on foot, headed for Pyrite Town.

"So what are we gonna do when we get there Wes?" Cody asked from his seat on his own bike, courtesy of the lab in which he was raised,

"Simple, get in there, find Ash, raise some Hell and maybe figure out what happened to everybody in Phenac City, then get out." Cody and Rui couldn't help but chuckle at the very simple plan that would contain some complex maneuvering on their own part as their destination came into sight.

"Let's go!" Wes said, a cocky smirk threatening to split his face in two as he increased the speed of his bike.

* * *

><p><strong>Back with Ash-<strong>

Ash stood in front of a large metal door with the Pokémon she had picked in her arms. Her posture was one of complete confidence, despite her amnesia, as this all felt very familiar to her. The doors suddenly slid open revealing an arena full of loud, cheering people, all excited for a good battle.

"Let's go."

"Pika!"

* * *

><p>AN. Thanks for reading and hope you liked the chapter! Please review and see ya!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N. Hey guys! I'm on a roll right now so here's part 5! Enjoy!

To IndigoButterfly: Yeah, only thing is I don't forget or get used to it, I make everything difficult and whine insistently until I get yelled at and even then I do not stop or get out of my foul mood. The only way for me to be complaint, get me some food! Preferably something I'll actually eat. Ah…Yep I don't have to worry too much about you. I don't have to tell you who that was. And yes, save for some rare incidents where things just did not go in their favor, particularly those Spearow. That one was just…I don't have a word in my vocabulary for that little screw up, but on the bright side Pikachu finally started listening to Ash, and then they became best friends and it was all rainbow happy times! Yeah, disregard that last past, I had sugar. And yes! I am back baby! The typing ninja revived! All bow before me! Bow before Boshi and all things Pokémon first though. They rule all! Thanks for the review and enjoy!

To Ferdawg: Thanks for the review, and glad I can surprise you. But no, nobody actually died in the plane crash; everybody's just MIA right now, including the Pokémon. Of course that doesn't mean Pikachu is completely well. There is a reason it is called the Shadow Tournament after all. I wasn't just looking for a cool name to call the competition. Thanks for the review and enjoy!he

To TheBlackSeaReaper: Thanks and enjoy!

Ok! Now that that is done! Time for Summary, disclaimer, and chapter!

Summary: Wes, Cody, and Rui manage to get inside the Shadow Tournament, only to be in for the shock of their lives as they discover that what Cipher is up to is a lot worse than last time. This time, they're not just targeting the Pokémon, but also the Trainers. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Can Wes and the gang put a stop to Cipher's ongoing plans while rescuing their friend? And are Wes and Ash falling for each other?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon!**

* * *

><p><strong>Part 5: The Shadow Tournament Part 2!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Pyrite Town-<strong>

Wes, Rui, and Cody had just arrived in Pyrite Town, and already trouble was apparent, and it wasn't even being broadcast for all to hear. It was in the way people walked and held themselves, the way they acted. Right away Wes could tell something was amiss in the crime ridden town, but he knew he wouldn't get his answers by trying to terrify people into giving him answers. He'd need to talk to Duking, an old friend and ally, first.

"So Wes, I'm guessing by that look on your face, we're gonna go visit Duking?" Wes only nodded and the three started headed for Duking's home.

It didn't take long to arrive there, and almost instantly upon arrival they were greeted by old friends.

"Hey Wes! Long time no see, and I see you brought Rui and Cody with ya. What's the occasion?" came the boisterous voice of the normally serious but soft-hearted man,

"Hey Duking, sorry but we don't have time for pleasantries. We're here about something called the Shadow Tournament." Immediately Duking's expression fell at the mention of the later.

"So you've heard of it huh?" Wes simply nodded at the question before explaining.

"We think it might be behind a friend of ours disappearance. She disappeared just earlier today in Phenac City." Duking was silent for a moment as he thought,

"Wes, you and the others should probably sit down for this." Wes didn't ask questions and just did as told, followed shortly by Rui and Cody as well.

"So what do you have to tell us about this 'Shadow Tournament'?" Wes asked once he was sure everybody was seated properly. Duking sighed as he answered the question,

"First you need to know what you're dealing with Wes; these aren't like the Coliseum battles. These are a lot dangerous, and with little to no rules. People get hurt participating in these things, people disappear." Wes just sighed at the information; it seemed they had been doing that a lot lately.

"Yeah, we figured with the sudden drop in Phenac City's population. It's got Dash and Sara worried and more than a little scared." He responded with a very serious tone.

"As they should be, nobody who has entered that competition has been seen again. If it's really the reason your friend disappeared, then the chance of you saving her are next to none." Wes raised an eyebrow at that,

"That means there is a chance, what makes you say that?" Duking was silent, debating whether to tell them or not. He knew that Wes and the others would find out anyways, better it be from someone who understood the situation and had experience.

"Her name's Katie, Katie Myran. She was a visiting trainer from the Johto Region. She got recruited for the Shadow Tournament, and so far is the only known person to come back from it. She'll have the information you need. But Wes there's something else." Wes paused to hear the man out,

"What?" he asked, goading the man into continuing,

"There's a reason it's called the Shadow Tournament. Wes, just think about that before you go trying to be the hero again and get yourself and everyone else hurt."

"All the more reason to get Ash out of there. Duking, where does the Katie Myran live, if she's still in town, that is." Duking got out a piece of paper and began scribbling down a set of directions before handing it over to Wes.

"Just tell the clerk Duking sent you, he'll let you through. Just be careful Wes, the girl's been through a lot, she's scared they'll find her and force her to participate again. Just don't push her too much." Wes gave a nonchalant shrug as he responded,

"I've been dealing with people who have been through a lot, well, a lot lately. Don't worry, I won't pry too much." And with that he gave a careless wave over his shoulder as he left the building, "See ya Duking, take care."

"See ya Wes, stay safe, and I hope you find that friend of yours." Duking got no sign that Wes had heard him as they disappeared in the hot outside air.

* * *

><p><strong>The apartment above the Pokémart-<strong>

Cody was the one to knock on the door, Wes too busy thinking about things to actually and truly pay attention at the moment. It was quite clear now that Cipher was behind everything, of course, when it came to anything having to do with Shadow Pokémon, Cipher Co. was always behind it in some way, shape, or form.

"Yes, I'm coming!" came the voice of a clearly young female. There was some banging around before the door finally opened, revealing a girl, no older than 13 at least, with pale blonde hair and striking blue eyes. "Can I help you three?" Cody gave a sincere smile as he responded to the question,

"You're Katie Myran right?" the girl immediately became suspicious, which they all had expected,

"Yes…How do you all know my name?" Wes finally stepped up to speak,

"I'm Wes, the girl is Rui, and this is Cody. Duking sent us." Wes gave a clipped introduction, his tone clearly saying that he was not one for games right now. The girl hesitated before fully opening the door.

"What is it that you three need?" Wes sighed as he thought over how he should fraise the question before finally shrugging and speaking,

"We were wondering if you could answer some questions concerning the Shadow Tournament." Katie's eyes widened before shrinking back to regular size. She looked each of them in the eye carefully, A friend of ours has gone missing." That was all that was needed as Katie finally let them in to the small apartment.

"So what is it you guys need to know, I'm not sure how I can help, but I can try." Wes sat down as he answered,

"We want to know what's going on in there for one thing, and how we can get in." Immediately Katie began thinking. It took a while but she finally answered,

"What's going on in there is a nightmare. They pick out people who seem to be promising, trainer or not, regardless of whether you have experience in dealing with Pokémon or not, and then bring you here to Pyrite. They use the old coliseum, I have no idea how they managed it but they took control and have been using it as their base of operations. Anyways, they make it seem like nothing's wrong, and at first you think it's just your average Pokémon battle." She started,

"But it's not." Cody interjected, causing Katie to shake her head,

"Yeah, it's not, far from it. The battles have their own rules, this whole tournament is setup so people get hurt, it doesn't matter if you're human or not." She continued. "The Pokémon is allowed to attack the opposing trainer; the trainer is allowed to have direct confrontations with the opposing Pokémon. The trainers are allowed to start fights with each other in the middle of the battle and physically confront each other in a human vs. human battle if they want to. Nobody is safe from injury, heck I have seen referees get injured just standing on the sidelines." Wes managed to keep a cool face, unlike the others who's expressions were a mixture of illness and worry.

"So how do we get in? Even just as audience?" This time Katie didn't hesitate. She wandered off into some random direction of the apartment and began digging through things before she finally came back, three tickets in her hand.

"Here, these should get you in, just try not to act like you don't belong." Wes nodded in gratitude as he accepted the tickets, not bothering to ask how or when she had gotten them, or why she still had them. "Be careful."

"Thanks, and one last question Katie."

"Yes?" she responded, tilting her head curiously,

"What happens if you win, and what happens to those who lost?" Katie's face turned grim right then and there,

"If you borrowed a Pokémon from them, they allow you to keep it if you win. And regardless of whether you win or lose, you are forced to join some organization called Cipher, as a trained member. They're using the tournaments as ways to find and recruit potential members for some big plan, that's why nobody save for me has been seen after going in there." Wes just nodded as he, Cody, and Rui left.

"Thanks again for the information Katie, and we're sorry about bugging you. Take care of yourself now." Katie just nodded as she closed the door to her apartment, disappearing inside.

"So now I'm guessing we go see what these tournaments are actually like." Cody said, it wasn't a question, it was a statement, but Wes still responded,

"Yep, now let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>The Pyrite Coliseum-<strong>

Wes, Rui, and Cody had entered easily enough, but they all knew escaping wasn't going to be nearly as easy as getting in. Right now they were waiting to see if Ash was really here. If so, hopefully she hadn't lost yet. Suddenly the big doors opened revealing a darkened hallway. The natural cause was an uproar of cheers, catcalls, unnecessary wolf whistles. The cheers got louder as the two participants came out onto the battlefield. On one side was an unknown trainer, no older then twelve at the very least. On the other side was Ash. Wes felt really lucky that the tickets had gotten them seats so close to the center of the arena.

Ash was standing there with a Pikachu on her shoulder, both looked determined to win, though it was clear Ash had no idea why she even wanted to in the first place, even from the distance between the audience and the actual battlefield. The other trainer had a mean looking Arcanine behind him that seemed a little too pleased to see that Pikachu. There was cruel glint in its eyes, promising a whole lot of 'fun' for the Electric Mouse Pokémon, even if it wasn't very fun for the poor thing. Wes almost felt bad for it; that is until he recognized something different about the Pikachu. It seemed that though the Arcanine was bigger and had a lot more physical strength, the Pikachu had complete confidence in its trainer's abilities to order and guide it, as if it knew the girl wouldn't let it down no matter what happened. Wes just hoped Ash could make it through the battle. Suddenly both Cody and Rui spoke out,

"Wes! That's a Shadow Pokémon Ash is battling!" Rui said in a panicked whisper,

"What do we do?" Cody asked, already reaching for a pokéball.

"Well-" The announcer's voice suddenly echoed out across the stadium, causing the whole crowd to get exponentially louder and drowning out anything that Wes could have said in seconds.

"**LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, HOT GIRLS AND SCUMBAGS! WELCOME TO THE FINAL ROUND OF THE SHADOW TOURNAMENT! THE WINNER WILL TAKE HOME THE PRIZE MONEY ALONG WITH A SPECIAL PRIZE COURTESY OF THE COLISEUM! IN THIS CORNER WE HAVE OUR CHAMPION. HE IS MEAN, HE IS STRONG, HE IS KING BLAZE! AND IN THE OTHER WE HAVE ARE STORMING CHALLENGER! SHE'S TORN THROUGH THE OPPOSITION, SHE'S MADE MINCEMEAT OUT OF HER OPPONENTS, SHE'S PULLED STUNTS THAT AREN'T EVEN HUMANLY POSSIBLE! ASH KETCHUM~! WE HAVE A COUPLE OF POWERHOUSES IN THIS STADIUM, MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE ARE YOU READY?" **the whole crowd went wild as they screamed and hollered, getting louder by the second with their crazy cheering until Wes, Cody, and Rui were sure they had lost their ability to hear correctly. **"TRAINERS! GO!" **And with the signal to go, the Arcanine took off into the battlefield, charging at Ash like it could careless who it took down as long as someone wound up hurt. The Pikachu just sat there in Ash's arms, not doing anything at all as the fire-type Pokémon got closer.

Just as it seemed Ash was going to get hurt, something incredible happened, the Arcanine froze suddenly, floating a couple of feet above the ground, completely helpless and unable to perform a physical attack. There was a strange light surrounding it.

"**AND THERE IT IS FOLKS! WHAT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, THE ABILITY THAT GOT ASH THIS FAR THROUGH THE TOURNAMENT! WITHOUT EVEN THE USE OF HER POKéMON, SHE'S ABLE TO COMPLETELY HAULT THE PROGRESS OF HER OPPONENTS POKéMON! AMAZING!" **Came the announcer's excited play by play of the action below. And in truth what he said was right. Whatever was keeping that Arcanine from moving, wasn't something a Pikachu could do. It seemed that whatever was going on, Ash was the cause, and she hadn't been using the Pokémon too much in this fight.

Wes could see Ash mumble something, and suddenly the Arcanine went still, before going completely limp. It was gently set down, and then the next thing they knew the Pikachu was the one charging at the other trainer. Suddenly Ash's voice called out loud and clear.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!" And that's exactly what happened, but instead of the attack hitting the trainer, it hit the doors behind him, completely demolishing doors and causing a huge explosion that blanketed the arena in a heavy cloud of smoke. There was silence for a few minutes, mainly out of shock of what had just happened,

"Pika-" the silence was broken again by the sudden crackling sounds of electricity.

"Pika-" Then electricity started dancing all over the clouds, all coming from a central point,

"PIKAA-CHUUUU!" The whole arena lit up in dazzling dangerous show of electricity, not even a legendary could seem to produce.

In the next seconds there was panic, and the whole arena was emptied in a matter of seconds, leaving only Wes, Cody, Rui, and Ash, along with the alleged 'King Blaze' who was currently fuming and letting Ash pull such a stunt. Wes, Rui, and Cody didn't waste time as they joined Ash, who was tending to the Pikachu and unconscious Arcanine, on the battlefield.

"Ash, that was stupid and amazing! What the heck happened?" Cody asked as soon as he was close enough to all but trip over the girl and Shadow Pokémon.

"Ash! Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Ash just waited patiently as the two babbled insistently, neither being clear as they were trying to talk over each other.

"Guys, guys, I'm fine…But the Arcanine might not be. A lot of the Pokémon here are acting strange, violent." Wes put his hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze before looking back at the distracted champion.

"Ash, don't worry, we'll fix it. And the Arcanine. Do you know where they keep the rest?" Ash nodded as they all got up and quickly left before somebody came back and tried to stop them.

* * *

><p><strong>Later-<strong>

"50 Shadow Pokémon, 50. I can't believe they had so many!" Cody said exasperatedly. Wes nodded, obviously tired. They had just gotten back from what had to be one of the most dangerous, and honestly stupidest rescue missions ever. They had managed to, with Ash's help, find the caged Shadow Pokémon in a dark room near the entrance to the coliseum. It had taken some time, and some very risky battles, but they had managed to capture them all. Now they were sitting in the secret room behind Duking's office, resting from the tiring venture.

It took a while before Wes finally noticed Ash looking at him weirdly.

"Wes, what are Shadow Pokémon? You keep saying that term, but you've never explained." Wes looked at Ash for a minute, before finally answering,

"Ash, Shadow Pokémon, are Pokémon who's hearts have been forcibly and artificially closed shut. It turns them into fighting machines with no regard for a human's, or anyone else's safety. They are very dangerous, and unless purified, are not the safest Pokémon to use in battle. Of course, battle is one of the only known ways to help in purifying them." Wes explained, his expression grim.

"Oh…" ash seemed contemplative for a while.

"Ash, have you remembered anything since we met you?" Ash looked at Wes, her expression open and honest as she answered his question,

"No…"

"You don't have to come with us Ash, it'd probably be a lot safer for you if you just go home." Ash then vehemently shook her head.

"No!" Wes was about to try and convince her when she continued, not giving him anytime, "I want to help. Please Wes, let me help you guys. Please…" Wes stared at Ash for a moment, thinking, before finally sighing and giving in,

"Fine, you can come along and help." Ash smiled before she suddenly glomped Wes, nearly knocking him out of his seat and onto the floor.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much for letting me help Wes!" She then gave him a kiss on the cheek out of impulse, before blushing as she realized what she did, Wes was no better off, his face was almost red enough to make a tomato jealous.

In the background Wes could hear Rui and Cody attempting, and failing, to hold back laughter at what had just happened, and Wes had to restrain from trying to strangle his two friends.

"Oooh~! Wes and Ash, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-AAHH!" Cody teased before squeaking as he had to run away from a now very embarrassed, and very angry Wes.

"I'm gonna kill you Cody!" Rui was left to laugh the whole entire time while Ash just sat there beet red in the face with the Pikachu laughing at them as well.

* * *

><p>AN. Thanks for reading and please review! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and see ya!


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